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Maddie Howell after her fourth birthday, above, and her fifth birthday, below. For the last two years, she has asked guests to bring blankets to donate to the #WarmUpWNY drive instead of gifts for her. (Photo courtesy of the office of State Sen. Tim Kennedy)

8,000 blankets collected for patients at Oishei Children's Hospital

A drive to collect blankets for children receiving care at John R. Oishei Children's Hospital brought in more than 8,000 blankets this year.

That is double the number collected last year through the #WarmUpWNY blanket drive, according to the office of State Sen. Tim Kennedy. The Buffalo Democrat launched the drive in 2016 after hearing from hospital staff that a warm blanket is the kind of item that can provide comfort to children who may be worried during their hospital stay.

The most recent drive ran from Oct. 1 to Feb. 1, two months longer than the previous year's campaign, and included more than 40 community and government leaders as partners.

Officials unveiled the results of this year's blanket drive at Children's Hospital on Friday. The attendees included Maddie Howell, 5, who for her last two birthdays has asked party guests to bring blanket donations instead of gifts for her.